Individuals who have heard about the many physical and mental benefits of yoga should take the time to consider exactly what they want out of a yoga session and what specific discipline of yoga can best meet these needs.
For complete beginners, a hatha yoga class may be the ideal place to start. With a relatively slow pace, hatha classes require students to hold each pose for only a few breaths before slowly transitioning into the next pose. Not technically a unique school of yoga, hatha is the Sanskrit term used to describe any type of yoga. With this in mind, hatha yoga classes are typically geared towards a general audience and strike a comfortable balance between the mind and body through simple physical postures.
A hatha yoga class may feature a few easy poses such as child’s pose, tree pose, and downward dog. Despite their simplicity, these poses can help develop strength, flexibility, and mental clarity at the start of a yogi’s journey.
Beginners would be remiss to overlook the aptly named easy pose: by simply taking a seated position on the floor, crossing shins and fitting either foot under the opposite knee, and resting hands on knees, beginners can assume their very first yoga posture. Despite the simplicity involved, the easy pose works to strengthen the back and abdominal muscles while at the same time stretching the hips and groin. Other simple postures include the warrior two and low lunge poses.
Of course, not all yogis seek a straightforward, leisurely time. Some wish to push their bodies to the limit through more intensive practices, such as the practice of ashtanga yoga, the most challenging form of Vinyasa yoga, in which poses are performed in succession and synchronized with breathing. By adhering to ashtanga’s carefully structured patterns of poses, individuals can generate an intense, purifying heat that helps yogis sweat and detoxify their muscles and organs. Poses in ashtanga yoga are not only more challenging than easier postures, but must be held for extended periods of time.
Mysore yoga has some similarities with ashtanga. In fact, mysore sessions are essentially run as ashtanga classes without a class leader. This allows yogis to pursue their own patterns at their own pace, but means all motivation and guidance must come from within.
Hot yoga, another physically intensive style of yoga, requires practitioners to memorize and execute a series of grueling, carefully arranged postures. Poses become all the more difficult to hold as they are done in rooms approaching temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius.
Other styles of yoga to choose from include kundalini, yin, and iyengar. Individuals can also look into more specialized forms of yoga. Restorative yoga, for example, focuses on relaxing the body and mind following a long day of work, while prenatal yoga is ideal for pregnant women.
